The Other Guy
by Among-Stars
Summary: You never meant for it to happen, but it did. For her, she ended up falling for someone else. For him, he ended up being that someone else. But what does this mean for the other guy? What about when you are the other guy? TxG, two-shot. Rated for suggestion.
1. Part I

**_So no, its not No Good and I'm sorry for that, but I'm a tad bit stuck on that story at the moment. I've lost where I wanted to go with it because its been so long since I've had a chance to write it, and when I first sat down after finals to type something, this is what came to mind. It's a two-shot, so there's another part coming. I know it's not what you're expecting, but I hope you like it._**

* * *

 _Disclaimer:: I do not own High School Musical or the characters. I also don't own any thing, event, or person of realistic nature that I may make reference to or any other characters from other stories aside from High School Musical that may be referenced or noticed in its likeness. I also do not own the song The Other Guy by Jesse McCartney that this two-shot is based off of, but I do own a copy of the album on which I listened to it on. However, I would suggest either buying a copy of said album for your own enjoyment or at least looking up the song on YouTube (which I'm sure by now, you understand that I also do not own). Anyway, enough with my rant, enjoy this random blurb!_

The Other Guy

Two-Shot Part I

Troy lay back in his bed, the sheet pulled up to just around his waist, covering the naked lower half of him as both of his arms were stretched up to rest behind his head on the pillow. In that very position, he watched as she stood up from the bed, not bothering to put on any clothes and walked into his bathroom, not bothering to shut the door as she turned the faucet on and got in the shower.

As he lay back in a daydream as she showered, he thought of the very moment that had landed him in this position. A position that he both loved and hated at the same time. A position that no matter how good or back it was, could not last long.

" _Bolton, you have to stop moping!" Gabriella Montez scolded her best friend Troy Bolton as she moved about his studio apartment/bachelor pad, picking up random items that were tossed and thrown around._

" _Easy for you to say. You didn't just find out your fiancé has been cheating on you."_

" _You don't need her anyway, Troy," Gabriella said, pausing to look at him. She then dropped what she was doing to come and sit beside him on the couch. "Amy doesn't know what she's missing, you're a great guy and one of the best friends ever and if she wants to go off and screw a movie star, then let her!"_

" _Because that helps…"_

" _I'm being serious! Look, you are 25 years old and in your prime. And soon enough you'll be playing for some big time NBA team and she'll come crawling back to you because she's a selfish whore of a gold-digger and you can have that satisfaction of telling her no and slamming that door in her face. She's not worth your time. You've got bigger and better things to worry about."_

 _Troy sighed, glancing over at the petite brunette that he'd grown to know so well over the past 20 years of their friendship that had started in pre-school. He'd known her almost as long as he'd known Chad now and he'd known Chad his whole life. "Thanks Gab."_

 _She smiled, reaching over and squeezing his hand. "Anytime. Now do you want to go out and get drunk or shall we do it here?" A smirk played on her face as she watched Troy seemingly contemplate an answer to her question._

" _Bring out the booze!" He finally yelled, causing her to giggle as he drowned all of his worries and sadness about his ex into bottles upon bottles of some good alcohol with some good company._

Looking back, as much as he'd enjoyed the rest of what had occurred that night, he couldn't help but regret certain parts. Like the alcohol that had lowered both his and Gabriella's inhibitions, yeah, maybe that hadn't been the best idea to help his state of mind that night.

 _Gabriella giggled as she finished another beer. "I want another shot!" She instantly stood up, wobbling a bit and stopping to catch her balance. Troy moved closer to her, hand shooting to her waist to steady her because even in his drunk state, he still had what seemed like the reflexes of a cat._

" _Maybe….y...you don't need one," Troy said, to which Gabriella gasped._

" _Troy Bolton!" She hiccupped and then giggled, making him laugh along with her. "Don't be silly!"_

" _What the hell?!" He gave in, standing up and walking with her into the kitchen to pour more shots._

 _Gabriella watched as he poured them each another shot and then smiled as she took it from him and clinked her glass against his before tilting and throwing back her shot. When she straightened her head back out, she found Troy staring at her._

 _She hiccupped again. "W…what?"_

 _He shook his head and then quickly took his shot as well. "Nothingg…"_

" _If…" she stumbled on her words for a second. "If it was nothing….then….wh…why were you staring at me like that?" She hiccupped again at the end of her question._

 _He shrugged. "I just thought that was hot."_

 _Gabriella paused for a second, tilting her head and looking at her best friend sideways. "Hot?"_

 _He nodded, still staring at her and she stared back. A few seconds later, Troy very sloppily moved closer to her, his hands finding and gripping tightly to her waist. "Gab?"_

 _She hiccupped again. "Hmm?"_

" _I just….can I….you're so beautiful."_

 _She giggled. "What?"_

" _I dunno," he responded. "Thank you…"_

" _For what?"_

 _He shrugged, walking back over the couch and collapsing on it, legs hanging off over the edge. "For being here…with me."_

" _Troy," Gabriella hiccupped once again as walked behind him and plopped down near his hip. "Why….why would I…not be here?"_

 _He shrugged again. "Troy…I love you, 'kay?"_

" _Love you too."_

 _She leaned down and placed her head on his chest, somewhat giving him a hug and his arm came up to wrap around her. Slowly, but surely, not really sure what made her do it (probably the alcohol), but Gabriella pushed herself further up Troy's body until she met his face. She started sloppily playing with his face as he looked back at her._

 _Without warning or question, Troy's hand stopped hers, taking it in his own grasp and suddenly yanking her forward, even closer to him._

 _Pressed tightly against him on the couch, Gabriella wasn't sure why she did it or what force of nature might have been behind her instinct to, but she used her free hand to grip his shirt tightly in her fist as she pressed her lips passionately, but sloppily against his own._

After that, there was no stopping what had happened. And to be honest, although it might not have been the _best_ way to deal with his heartache, it was definitely the more preferred one.

"What are you doing?" Gabriella asked him, breaking his thoughts. He looked up to find that she was freshly showered and dressed in a pair of sweatpants she had left over here and one of his t-shirts.

He shrugged, sitting up and reaching for his boxers that had been discarded on the floor earlier. "Just thinking," he answered as he stood up. "You good?"

She nodded, shifting hair behind her ear and then looking down while playing with her hands. "Yeah, I'm okay. You?"

He shrugged. "Never better. What time do you have to be back?"

She looked up at him as he walked nearer to her. "He's expecting me around noon."

He glanced at the clock, noting that it was already 11:42. "You better get back then, I wouldn't want you to be late"

Gabriella sighed as Troy walked away from her and to the bathroom himself. This was the part that both of them hated, Gabriella especially because she knew that deep down she was hurting Troy and he refused to admit it.

"Troy," she called out as she watched him get in the shower. He paused briefly, but kept his back to her, not bothering to turn around. "I'm sorry."

He didn't answer, but instead stepped in the shower and closed the curtain, Gabriella sighing and knowing that that was her cue to leave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TOG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gabriella sighed as she walked into the house, shutting the door and dropping her bag in the hallway.

A burly, gray haired man appeared in the hallway in front of Gabriella. "Miss. Montez," he greeted her in his thick British accent.

"Hey George, where's Adam?"

"He's on a phone call at the present moment. He asked me to watch for when you arrived home and lead you to wait at the table for him for brunch. He'll be back shortly."

Gabriella nodded with a slight eye-roll. "Of course," she mumbled under her breath, heading to the kitchen. George pulled out her chair as she sat down.

"How was your evening at Miss. McKessie's?"

"It was good, nice to catch up," she answered, biting her lip, her head way too far away from where she currently was, seemingly not even attached to her body at the moment.

"Glad you enjoyed yourself. You needed a night off, you've been working hard lately."

"Yeah…"

He grabbed the white napkin and draped it across her lap. "Juice?" He questioned grabbing the pitcher of orange juice. Gabriella only nodded, still drifted away. "Miss. Montez, if I might ask, is everything alright?"

"George…"

Gabriella was cut off by the sound of Adam running back into the room. "Gabriella, love, your back. Sorry I was preoccupied, the clients are trying to get an early start this year." He swooped by and dropped a kiss to the top of her forehead before going to the refrigerator.

"It's a long story for much later," she spoke under her breath to George.

"What are you two whispering about?" Adam asked as he came back to the table, a bottle of whiskey and a glass in each hand.

She shook her head. "Nothing. Isn't it kind of early, Adam?"

He smiled. "It's never too early for a drink."

She sighed, not even bothering to say more. George draped the napkin across Adam's lap just as he had done Gabriella and then placed their plates in front of them, stepping back with a polite "enjoy!" and then he walked off to leave them to eat their brunch in private.

"So what did you and Taylor do?"

She shrugged in response. "Just girl stuff really."

"Yeah? Had fun?"

"Of course." She answered a little deadpan, a little too caught up in her thoughts as she used her fork to play and push around her food.

"You okay babe?" He asked after swallowing.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, why?"

"You just seem a little distracted."

"No, I'm just…thinking about what I'm going to wear to the Met Gala tonight."

Adam smiled, reaching across the table to take her hand in his own. "Oh, baby, I'm sure whatever you chose to wear, you'll look great."

"Hope so."

"Hey, if you really want my opinion, I think that red dress you have, the long one with the v neck, would be perfect."

Gabriella nodded, too lost in her thoughts to do much else.

"Hey, seriously," he said, snapping her out of her reverie for just a moment. "Stop thinking so much about it. You'll look beautiful, you always do." Adam stood then and made his way over to her, stopping just as he towered over her in her seat. "And I'll charm the pants off those investors and then we'll have our future ahead of us. Wedding planning and so much more."

Gabriella had to force a smile as he took her hand in his again. "I love you so much Gabriella Montez and I can't wait for us to finally start our lives and live out all of those dreams together."

He then pressed a sweet kiss to her lips before standing and taking one more quick bite of his food. "So I know how much you hate it when I work too much and I hate to leave you, but I have so much to get done before tonight. Will you be okay for a few hours?"

Another forced smile. "Of course, I understand Adam. Do what you have to do, I'll just see you tonight."

He smiled, kissing her again before taking off. "See you tonight, beautiful!" He called out as he exited the kitchen and disappeared up the stairs.

And as George came back in, taking the plates and cleaning up, Gabriella couldn't help but realize that this man was willing to drop everything for her and do what it took to make her happy. The worst part is that she didn't even deserve him.


	2. Part II

_Disclaimer:: I do not own High School Musical or the characters. I also don't own any thing, event, or person of realistic nature that I may make reference to or any other characters from other stories aside from High School Musical that may be referenced or noticed in its likeness. I also do not own the song The Other Guy by Jesse McCartney that this two-shot is based off of, but I do own a copy of the album on which I listened to it on. However, I would suggest either buying a copy of said album for your own enjoyment or at least looking up the song on YouTube (which I'm sure by now, you understand that I also do not own). Anyway, enough with my rant, enjoy this random blurb!_

The Other Guy

Two-Shot Part II

As Troy entered the Met Gala hours later, he fixed his black tuxedo jacket. He looked around, taking in the elegant design of the ballroom, the thousands of people running around, from popular celebrities to behind the scenes investors with shitloads of money, even the servers with their trays of alcohol and appetizers.

Just as he thought about it, a young woman approached him with a tray full of classes. "Champagne, sir?" She asked politely with a bright smile. A smile that Troy knew was fake because years ago before he landed his own career playing basketball, he was in her shoes, fake smiling and serving alcohol to the rich and snobby just to make enough money to get by.

God he hoped that's not how she viewed him. "Uhh, no thanks. I'm okay." He politely refused. The girl just smiled and walked away just as he heard a voice speaking out to him.

"Okay, Bolton. Just who do you think you are, refusing my alcohol?"

Troy turned to come face to face with the beautiful blond dressed in a long gold formal dress, her hair in curls framing one side of her face, a glass of champagne in one of her perfectly manicured hands. She was smirking at him, holding her arms out in expectation and Troy made sure to give her what she wanted by stepping forward and enveloping her in a light hug.

"Hey, Sharpay." Sharpay Evans. One of the richest women in the business. She had it all from day one. Her dad had money, so therefore she had money. She actually came from a long line of money, her whole family, so she was set no matter what. Her dad had taken control of the Met Gala a few years back and given the role of pulling of the event to his wife. When Sharpay had grown old enough, that responsibility was passed down to her. And she'd made damn sure each year that she did above and beyond to make sure she made her parents proud. That and she made her own name for herself by simultaneously having a fashion line and an avid acting career as well as all the charity and philanthropy.

"Well, hey Troy. Thanks for coming, I didn't think you would show!"

"Ahh, of course. Told you, I would be here. I don't break my promises."

"Never have…" she started.

"Never will," he finished, as a part of a habit they'd picked up in high school. They'd been good friends for a while, just as tight as him and Gabriella and Chad and they went way back. Amazingly, he was able to keep in touch with a lot of his close friends, even if some of those friends were on the more-than-friends side now. "No, this is nice Shar, you did a really good job."

"Well thank you. I'm just glad you're here. It's nice seeing some familiar faces. I mean I know this thing is big, but usually all I get is the old money and benefactors, but nobody to really make any heads turn, and get this thing on the map like it should be."

Troy glanced around, noticing that she was right; definitely more old than young. "Well you're doing great so far, don't let that get you down. Plus, I told the team to come, so keep your hopes up."

"Thanks, well here's hoping that those lunkhead basketball guys show up too."

When Troy turned to glare at her for the use of his old high school nickname given to him by Chad's girlfriend and Gabriella's closest girlfriend Taylor, Sharpay snickered lightly. "Okay, sorry, I couldn't help myself. Have you seen Gabi?"

Troy was quick to look down at his feet, clearly his throat loudly, all of which didn't go unnoticed by Sharpay. "Uh, no. I wasn't aware she was coming."

Sharpay looked at him oddly. "Okay, bullshit, because she told me she mentioned to you that she was coming with Adam and...Oh!" She turned to look at him, almost sympathetically. "Is that why you lied to me just now?"

"Sharpay…"

"No, Troy I totally get it, I'm sorry I brought it up."

"No you're not because you did it on purpose."

She opened her mouth wide, feigning shock. "Did not!" And when he gave her the look, she instantly gave up. "Okay, whatever. I'm sorry, but you have to admit that's why…"

"I admitting it, Shar, just let it go."

She paused as his annoyed tone and placed a single hand on his arm. "If it helps, I do believe that one day she'll realize she has the same feelings you do. But in all honesty, you should say something to her before she gets too deep with Adam."

"It's already deep, they're engaged."

She shrugged, nonchalantly. "Yeah, well really deep would be marriage, so you've still got time. As long as you're not a homewrecker, all's well that ends well."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, but…"

"Yeah, yeah, Bolton, I get it. You don't have to tell me again." She sighed, quickly downing the glass of champagne in her hand and handing it to Troy. "Guess I have to go be hostess of this thing." When Troy turned to set the glass on a nearby table, she gasped quickly. "Don't look now, but your girls here!"

When Troy sent another glare in her direction for the use of the word, she quickly scurried off. "Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood, you guys look amazing…" was the last thing he heard as she ran off.

He took that opportunity to look for her, trying to find where Sharpay had spotted her. Seconds later his breath was taken away when he noticed her by the entrance. She was dressed in a floor-length oxblood red colored gown that dipped low into her chest in a v neck that was extremely lacy and also extremely sexy. He could tell, even from the slight distance between the two of them, that she had accessorized and made up her face very well, even though he was adamant that she didn't need any of that stuff. Her long brown locks that he loved so much were pulled up, with just a few tendrils falling to frame her face, shiny berets keeping the rest of her hair in the style.

She was shaking the hand of some unknown man while the other arm held a clutch that matched her dress as it was curled around the arm of her fiancé. He watched her pull on the same polite smile the server had given him earlier as she engaged with small talk for a moment before she'd let her eyes sweep the room and located his own.

In that same moment that their eyes connected, her smile went from polite to real in just milliseconds and Troy couldn't help but smile back at the contagious nature that her smile evicted. He watched as she said something quickly to Adam and excused herself from the conversation, her feet following her line of sight and her sights were set on him.

Although it took only seconds for her to cross the room and reach him, as he stood dumbstruck admiring her beauty, it seemed like forever until she finally stood in front of him with that familiar smile. "Hey handsome!"

"Hey," he responded, snapping out of his reverie. "You look…beautiful as always."

She titled her head slightly and bit her lip. To anyone else, it would mean nothing, but to him, everything she did meant the world. "You're gonna make me blush."

He smirked. "Wouldn't be the first time."

"Jerk!"

Troy let out a chuckle before glancing behind her. "So Adam's here."

Gabriella nodded slowly. "Yeah, he's got business to attend to tonight and I told him I'd come for support."

"Wifely duties, huh?"

She sighed. "Fiancée."

"For now."

She glanced down at her clutch, turning so that she was facing Adam just as Troy was and standing directly next to him so that she could talk to him quietly and still be heard. "Don't do this, not tonight."

"So when?"

"Troy, I asked you this morning…"

"If something was wrong," he finished for her. "And I lied, okay. But it's not like it's the first time I've done that and it won't be the last. But I don't understand how I expected you to take not of that, especially with this fancy new life you're living."

"If you have something to say…"

"I love you," he cut her off simply, surprising her and effectively stopping anything else she had planned to say. "As more than my best friend. And I know it comes out of the blue and there's nothing you can do about it, but I do. I can't help that. And that's my mistake."

"Troy, I love you too, you know that, but..."

"You don't even have to say it," he finally turned back to her, blue meeting brown. "I understand, you can't and that's okay. We…started this thing before he was even in the picture and now that he is…we gotta stop."

"I don't want to stop," she replied, sure and determined, the only full sentence she'd gotten out in a while.

"But we have to. You're getting married to him and you love him."

"And I also love you."

"Not the way you're meant to love him. It's just sex with us…"

"It's not," a single tear broke free and rolled down her left cheek, but she didn't bother to wipe it away.

"But you can't have both. You love him, otherwise you wouldn't have accepted his proposal. He gets you and you get him. As your best friend, I can honestly say, I've never seen you with anyone the way you are with him. I love you, especially for all that you've done, but I can't continue to take your charity and let you hurt him."

"None of what we've done together has ever been charity."

Troy nodded. "You're right, maybe not, but you helped me when I was hurting and I'm holding you back from being with the man you love."

"What if that man is you?" She challenged.

"Trust me, it's not."

Gabriella breathed in deeply. "You sure picked a fine time for all of this."

"I didn't do it on purpose. But seeing you here with him, looking as amazing as you do. I just came to the realization. You're not mine and you never will be. And I have the audacity to be keeping you from loving him whole and completely. And I can't do that to you. They always say when you love someone you should let them go. Who am I to be the other guy?"

Gabriella looked down at the bottom of her dress. "We can still be friends…" She trailed off as Troy started to shake his head.

"No we can't."

"And just why not?"

"Because you and I both now we can't do that. We'll end up back where we started."

"Why now?"

He shrugged. "You need to have a chance at happiness and it's not with me. I had my chance and I blew it. I was so caught up over a girl who didn't care two shits about me and I let myself go about being with you in the worst way and I can't take that back. All these years I've been in love with you and I let them go by without saying anything. I don't have the right to take you from Adam, Gabs."

"You can't be serious, Troy..." she reached for his hand just as Adam walked up to the two.

"Hey babe!" At seeing his bright smile, Gabriella quickly looked down and wiped her face with her hand one time. "Hey! You remember Troy right?"

"Yeah, sure. Best friend from high school right?" Adam asked, sticking his hand out to shake Troy's.

Troy smiled, tight lipped, but nonetheless, shaking Adam's hand. "High school and before. Like Kindergarten."

Adam smiled at the two. "That's cool. Awesome how you guys are still friends."

Troy nodded. "Isn't it. Look, I gotta go, I promised some other people I'd make sure to say hey and I'm sure you guys have your own rounds to make, so I'll see you around?"

"Sure of course," Adam answered, a hand around Gabriella's waist. "We could do dinner sometime, right babe?"

"Yeah," she answered quickly and quietly, looking up to meet Troy's eyes again. Something in the way he was looking at her told her he had more to say so she told Adam she would catch up and quickly pressed herself into Troy's embrace, to which he returned, his arms wrapping around her petite frame.

"I can't be that other guy for you, but you decide you're not happy in the next few years…I'll be around."

She pulled back and willed herself not to cry. "I want to say that I hate you, but I can't. Because I know why you're doing this and it's the right thing to do, but I don't want to let you go."

"You're not," he corrected. "I'm letting you go. With the hopes that one day you'll come back, but not stopping you from living in the now. So have fun and love him as much as I know you're capable of and be happy. If it's meant to be, it will and not under the circumstances of you cheating on him."

She shook her head, laughing in disbelief. "Your logic makes no sense at all, Bolton."

He shrugged. "Isn't that one of the things you love about me?"

She nodded, managing a small smile. "Exactly one of the things I love about you. God, I hope that one day it will work out, or that we can at least be friends without all this extra."

"One day."

"Are you sure?"

"Gabi…"

"I'm sorry, I had to check. You know this is crazy. I'm going to miss you."

"Me too, but you can't ruin this," he paused taking her left hand and finger the engagement ring on it. "Over something that happened by mistake. Like I told you, I'll be around, just not like this."

"God, I hate you."

He nodded. "I love you too." And with that, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, squeezed her waist, lingering for just a minute longer than he should have and then he pulled away. Gabriella's eyes were still closed, lingering longer on the embrace than he had as he turned to walk away.

As Gabriella collected herself and opened her eyes, she found her sight line to be set on his retreating back. On his way out the door, she noticed him pass by Sharpay and the two shared a quick moment before he disappeared, from the event and her life.

As Troy got to the door, Sharpay was waiting there with a sympathetic smile already on her face. Having figured it out a few months back, she and Troy had previously talked extensively about the situation and what he felt he should do, letting him come to his own concluding decision. "I'm sorry, Troy."

He shook his head. "I'm not, because you're right, it had to be done."

She nodded. "You gonna be okay?"

"Eventually." He fought the urge to turn back and look at Gabriella.

She nodded and he pressed a quick kiss to her cheek and he continued out the exit.

He'd walked away from her, from what they'd done. Because he couldn't be with her, not in that way. He wanted to be her only guy and he'd be damned if he settled for being her other guy.


End file.
